My crew cab 4x4 diesel zf swap, short bed swap has begun.

[towtruckdave]

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I got this as a 1986 F350 longbed crewcab 4x4 460 c6. I sold the bed because it was a 1995 and had the wrong wheelwell for my '86. I also sold the 460 and c6 trans. I traded a 454 engine core for this solid Oklahoma bed from an '86.

 

[towtruckdave]

I bought an F450 that was rotted bad for the 7.3 and 4x4 ZF. The truck was owned by the Diesel shop that my former Diesel Instructor, Joe, now worked at. Well Joe rebuilt the engine and trans on the clock. This thing runs very nice and has a new clutch and flywheel kit. I kept the Hydroboost and clutch pedal from the 'duty for the '86.

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[lindstromjd]

^ My first thoughts at that bottom picture... ***?!? A tandem axle flat bed truck!?? Then I realized it was a cab sitting on a flatbed trailer.

 

[towtruckdave]

So all I need to do is swap the engine, trans, cut/weld the frame, install a fuel door in the bed, shorten the driveshaft, etc.

But hey it will be a lot easier than swapping in that 7.8 like I was going to. I bailed on that idea when I found out the roadranger trans had a 1:1 6th gear.

Luckily that scrap F450 fell out of the sky and onto my trailer.

The idea is to come up with something like this guys truck, but in a 79,000 mile, clean '86.

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[towtruckdave]

Hey the first person to guess where I got the wheels wins a free beer at the Ralley!

 

[FORDF250HDXLT]

^ My first thoughts at that bottom picture... ***?!? A tandem axle flat bed truck!?? Then I realized it was a cab sitting on a flatbed trailer.

yeah i did the same thing lol!
my back loved the idea at first glance! oh man that would be a cool mod -if it where legal.easy loading,and could still tow a chipper.

why a shortbed Dave?

 

[Diesel_brad]

Hey the first person to guess where I got the wheels wins a free beer at the Ralley!

Mel

 

[Dieselcrawler]

damn, brad beat me to it. still owe me a beer.

 

[Diesel_brad]

damn, brad beat me to it. still owe me a beer.

You can have mine. I will not be there

 

[GOOSE]

Looks good Dave Is this a body off frame resto?

 

[towtruckdave]

Mel

Looking forward to handing you your cold one.

 

[towtruckdave]

damn, brad beat me to it. still owe me a beer.

You got it!

 

[bike-maker]

I've thought about doing the short bed swap on mine; my previous truck was a 97 F250 crew cab short bed. I don't really prefer short bed over long bed, I just like the idea of creating a truck that was never available from the factory.
Looking forward to seeing how it looks in the slant nose body style.
Another neat combination would be the setup Yotee used to have; a crew cab put on a ECLB frame, with a bed somewhere in between a short or long bed.

 

[trapper]

bahahaha when i seen the bottom pic i tilted my head and said *** then i looked closer and laughed

 

[towtruckdave]

yeah i did the same thing lol!
my back loved the idea at first glance! oh man that would be a cool mod -if it where legal.easy loading,and could still tow a chipper.

why a shortbed Dave?

It would be an easy mod if you made it front wheel drive.

I went with a shortbed for a better turning radius. I already have two other longbed trucks, an extended cab F250 4x4 and a reg cab '77 K30 4x4. I want this crewcab for hauling the boys and wife and pulling a trailer, and maybe a few dirtbikes.

I figured I would add: The Crewcab has 3.55 gears, Dana 60 KP, soon to be hydroboost w/F450 master cylinder.

I plan to leave the core support in place run the 460 radiator. I have heard of other members doing this with good results.

I was also pleasantly suprised to find out this truck, although it is longer, already turns sharper than my F250 ECLB.

I bought this truck as a D60 donor for my '90 F250 but I fell in love.

Goose, it will not be a body off frame resto, but I will clean up the frame and paint it with wheel paint.

I am trying to decide whether to paint it army green with a white allied star or red white and blue.